Cheesecake Factory Moving From White Flint To Montgomery Mall

The Cheesecake Factory in White Flint Mall could move to Westfield Montgomery Mall as early as November, according to employees at the restaurant.

The full-service chain has been a longtime anchor restaurant for the mall, which the Lerner family opened in 1977. But with the mall slated for mixed-use redevelopment, businesses large and small have been closing down over the past year.

The Cheesecake Factory, reached through its public relations agency, declined to comment on the move.

But one restaurant employee said the plan is to finish building the new Westfield Montgomery Mall location before the White Flint Mall location (11301 Rockville Pike) shuts down, leaving no lag time between the move.

Blogger Robert Dyer first reported a Cheesecake Factory location would open in Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd.).

Bertucci’s, the Italian restaurant chain that was opposite The Cheesecake Factory in White Flint, recently shut down. Bloomingdale’s closed in March 2012 and moved to Wisconsin Place in Friendship Heights. Large areas of the mall are empty. The United States Postal Service is looking for a new location for its post office location inside the mall before its lease runs out next June.

Lord & Taylor, one of the White Flint’s original anchor stores, has sued the mall’s development company to stop it from redeveloping, based on its 1975 lease agreement. Mall officials have said Lord & Taylor would remain in the new development.

Meanwhile, work on a new food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall continues. A Bobby’s Burger Palace is also scheduled for the mall. In May, a spokesperson said the restaurant was hoping for a September opening.